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August 11, 2010
By Brent Shearer
Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Literary Corner ... A Review of "Tie Breaker: Jimmy Van Alen and Tennis in the 20th Century" by Eleanor Dwight
Eleanor Dwight’s story of the life of Jimmy Van Alen, the man who gave tennis the tie-breaker, presents a much more versatile and accomplished figure than I’d expected to encounter. I’m a hardcore tennis fan, sure, but if the only interesting thing Jimmy Van Alen did in his life was to invent the tie-breaker, I might have told Long Island Tennis Magazine readers they could pass on Dwight’s Tie Breaker: Jimmy Van Alen and Tennis in the 20th Century.
April 5, 2010
By Brent Shearer
Little Pancho: The Life of Tennis Legend Pancho Segura By Caroline Seebohm
Last year was a tough year to publish a tennis biography if your name wasn’t Andre Agassi. But Caroline Seebohm’s account of another baseliner who also had the best return of serve of his era should not be overlooked.
January 1, 2010
By Brent Shearer
Open: An Autobiography
First things first ... it’s hard to talk about Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open without touching on the shocking substance abuse revelations in the book.
November 1, 2009
By Brent Shearer
Quest for Perfection: The Roger Federer Story
In this biography of Roger Federer, Quest for Perfection: The Roger Federer Story, Swiss tennis writer Rene Stauffer offers a glimpse of the stages in the development of the recently dethroned U.S. Open champ. Stauffer, who had the cooperation of Federer and his family, goes all the way back to the Swiss star’s earliest exposure to the game and tells the story of his emergence as a champion.
September 12, 2009
By Brent Shearer
“On This Day in Tennis History” By Randy Walker
I have never been a fan of reading encyclopedias. So it was with some trepidation that I opened Randy Walker’s book On This Day in Tennis History. The thought of reading about things that happened in tennis from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 through the years sounded slightly, but only slightly, more fun than curling up with a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
May 1, 2009
By Brent Shearer
Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self By Monica Seles
Monica Seles’ memoir Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self, published by the Avery Books imprint at Penguin Press, tells the story of the unluckiest tennis champion. The nine-time Grand Slam winner writes about the difficult emotional journey she endured during her playing years. The appearance of the book in early 2009 is an attempt to capitalize on her recent appearance on the TV show “Dancing with the Stars.”